Improvement in signaling devices for railroads



' GEORGE F. FoLsoM.

vImprovement in "Signalling Device for Railroads.

' 2 Sheet--Sheet 1.

NO.- 1 9,455-. I Patented CCL- 13, 1871.

Ilm

Pummmmh lllfllmlllu y a fiew GED'BGEFL FQLSOIvu@H N 255g??? `IrnprovementinSignalling Device for Railroads. N0. 119,455; A v Y, Paten-td-0t. 3,1187'1."

' MMWR .N

UNITED STATE ATENT OEE-ICE.

GEORGE E. EoLsoM,`oE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOE 0E ONE-HALE Eis `EIGHT To ALBERT A. EOLSOM, oEsAMEPL-AGE. v

IMPROVEMENT IN S-IGNALING DEVICES FOR RAILROADS.`

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent N o. 119,456, dated October 1871'.

To all whom it 'may concerns; o

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. FoLSoM, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and Gommonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad Safety-Signals for the use of railroads at their crossings, of which the following isa description and specification: V

The rst part ofmy invention relates to a'railroad signal to be ,used where the track 'of one road crosses that of another, or elsewhere; and consists in having the signal-boards and lights so arranged that they may be shown in one or both directions on the same track independently, and not seen on the other track; or, to' be more explicit, it is so constructed that the operator or watchman who is stationed at an elevation above the track and below the signal-chamber orlantern may Vshow the 'signals so that one train on that track may pass, Vor he may show both signals and allow a train to pass each'wayat the same time on double tracks; but he cannot show signals on both tracks .y at the same time, thus precluding the possibility of any accident by trains on both roads coming into collision.:` The second part of my invention relates "to a series of levers operated within check-locks," which levers operate theblind-rods and open and close blinds to the signal-boards and lights, presenting them to or shutting them from the view of the engineers, which signal-boards and lights are so arranged that the engineers on one road cannot sce those for the other road.

Figure 1 is a perspective elevation of my invention, showing the operative parts with one signal open. Fig. 2 is a top view of a signalchamber or lantern with the covering removed. Figs. 3 and 4 arey vertical transverse sections, showing the check-locks, levers, and blind-rods. Fig. 5 is a front view of one check-lock, levers, and blind-rods.

A represents the iioor of operators or watchmans room, which is elevated in the tower to any desired distance. B B are the posts which support the blind-rods and other operative parts, and are about five feet apart. (l is the signalchamber or lantern with signal-boards and windows. aa b b are the signal-boards, and colored windows within them. c o d d are the blinds to signal-boards and windows, operated by the machinery below. D Dl E-E are the blind-rods,

which. extend from the operators room to the blinds. e e fj" are the levers which operate the blinds. vF F are check-locks, whicli, secure the levers.` Gr G are 1fixed sockets; inwhich stand the feet of the blind-rods. lH is a rocking bar, hung to brace Ion a bolt, g. l1l l1. are springs to keep the rocking bar in 'position and lock the levers when the blinds are closed.y J J are rods connecting the rocking bar with-the cheek-locks. K K are foot-treadles pivoted tothe ends ofthe roc/king bar, and hinged to the posts B B. kvk( m m are lamps behind the colored windows |for night, but may be exchanged for on'e gas-burner, if desired.

I construct and operate l'my inventionV in L the following manner, viz.: I construct a'towerj'inV the angle between the tracks of the two roads, as near as possible where they cross each other, so that the signals for each road may' b'elseeii readily at any distance from its track. I'place the iloor ofthe operators room, represented by 'A in Fig. 1, at whatever elevation desired. Upon that; iioor I secure the posts B B', placingthein about iive feet apart, so as to allow room to'pass between the ends of the levers 'and still 'toha've the levers sufici'e'ntlynear toloper'ate themj with ease. I'have the o'perators room well' supplied with windows, Vso that he ycan see in all directions. I p'lace the signal-chamber or. lantern (l at whatever elevation I desire, it making no difference at what elevation it may be, as the blindrods E E D D may be of any desired length. On the posts or standards B B I secure the sockets G Gr', or they may be cast thereon, if desired. In the sockets I stand the feet of the blind-rods D Dl E E', letting thempass up through the head-pieces M M, which serve as boxes for the rods. To the blind-rods I attach the levers e e ff by set-screws or keys. The lower ends of the blind-rods are turned, and pass through v the check-locks F F so as to play freely therein, and so that the check-locks may move up and down thereon. I connect the check-locks to the ends of the rocking bar H by means of connecting-rods J J which are pivoted to the rocking bar, and are fastened to the check-locks by nuts, the connecting-rods having shoulders beneath. I attach the treadle-levers K K to the rocking bar by bolt, and hinge the onev end to the posts or standards B B. Under each end of the rocking bar I place a spring, to -keep the bar level and lock the levers when the blinds are closed. I attach the blinds to the rods by bolts, and make the blinds of stout sheet-iron, as they are thin and are not effected by the weather. I paint the "faces" of the signal-chambers, which are the size of the blinds, white, which serve as flags I also have within the faces or signalboards c c' d d' windows of colored glass for night use. For light at night, lamps or gas may be used. In a tower now in use as an experiment I use one gasburner, which gives ample light, and placed in the center of the lantern C, which is about four feet in diameter, shows equally from all windows. I have dividing-boards or partitions N N' between the windows on opposite sides, which serve to shut the signals forone road track from view on the other road, and also to arrest the blinds when opened, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. The check-locks, which have two arms each, n n' o o', are so constructed that one arm is face up and one face down on each, as shown in Fig. 5; and in each arm is anotch, which locks the levers when the blinds are closed, as shown at a: in Figs. 1, 4, and 5. When the blinds are all closed the levers are all "home and in their notches and locked," asl the springs h h' force the checks into their proper positions, so that the blinds cannot open.

I operate the signals in the following manner: Suppose trains are approaching the crossing upon both roads-on one road two passenger-trains from opposite directions, and on the other road a passenger-train and a freight-train. rllhe trains are allowed to pass in order of' their arrival, the freight-trains always giving way to passenger. Suppose the first train is the freight 5 then the passenger on same road, then the two trains on the other roads. I place my foot upon treadle K, which causes check-lock F to rise and F' to fall, and allows leverfto be worked, which opens blind c. I open that blind, but, not moving leverf', blind c' will remain closed. Suppose the passenger-train faces signal a, which is open, it passes over but as signal a' is not open, which faces the freight-train, it cannot pass. As soon as the passenger-train is past I close signal a,

press down treadle K, which unlocks levers e e', when I open both signals b b', which allows both passenger-trains on the other road to pass. As soon as they are past, those signals are closed and signal a' opened, and the freight-train passes. In pressing down treadle K, which unlocks levers ff' and opens blinds c c', as shown in Figs. l, 2, 3, and 4, the levers e e' are locked the more securely, as the faces of their arms are the reverse of those of levers f f', as the notch for each lever is deep; and when check-lock F rises and F' falls, it will be seen that the notches for levers 6 e' will be dropped more deeply over them, so that it is impossible to unlock them, as the levers ff' while open, one or both, hold the check-locks so that they cannot be moved. Thus it is impossible to show signals to both roads at the same time. The machinery of my invention is easily operated, and is convenient and compact, and the signals can be opened and closed instantly', saving much time, and avoiding all the dangers incident to the old mode of signaling by "balls and lanterns In construction of my signaling-chamber or lantern I do not confine myself to any particular shape; nor do I confine myself to any particular size or shape for signal-boards and blinds.

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combinationv of the posts B B' and sockets G G' and heads M M', blind-rods D D E E', levers e e' f j", check-locks F F', rocking bar H with springs h h', treadles K K', connecting-rods J J', blinds c c' d d', signal-boards and windows a a' b I1' or the equivalents of any, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. The signal-chamber or lantern C, combinin g signal-boards and windows a a' b b' and blinds c c cl d', constructedand operated substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses: GEO. F. FOLSOM.

JOHN R. BAimR, H. C. DAN. (91) 

